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SAMSUNG And ROHDE & SCHWARZ Win TV Technology’s Star Award For A-VSB Mobile DTV Technology At NAB 2007


WEBWIRE

Samsung Electronics and Rohde & Schwarz announced that their co-developed Advanced-VSB (A-VSB) Mobile DTV system has won TV Technology magazine’s STAR Award (Superior Technology Award Recipient) at the 2007 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention. A-VSB is a proposed open standard, ready to roll out in time for the February 2009 transition to all-digital TV broadcasting, that broadcasters can implement at low cost, providing an all-new distribution channel to reach consumers with live TV on the go via portable media devices, whether traveling by car, bus, train, or walking down the street. Together, Samsung Electronics and Rohde & Schwarz have developed A-VSB as a dramatic enhancement to the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) digital TV transmission standard.
“For Samsung, NAB was a resounding success because we achieved our goals of demonstrating a Single Frequency Network and mobile reception using bandwidth-efficient ½ rate Turbo and 10 byte SRS,” said John Godfrey, Vice President, Government & Public Affairs, Samsung Information Systems America, Inc. "Winning the STAR Award is icing on the cake and we’re proud to accept this prestigious honor.

“For Rohde & Schwarz , NAB 2007 was a great success,” said Mike Simon, Manager Advanced Technology, Broadcast Division, Rohde & Schwarz. “Being recognized for proposed contributions to the ATSC Standard is an honor. We look forward to the future and completion of this work that will bring new extensibility to the ATSC Standard and opportunities for broadcasters.”

Broadcasters’ requirements are clear, and Samsung and Rohde & Schwarz are confident A-VSB is the only system to meet the broadcasters’ requirements. A-VSB was created in response to broadcasters’ need for a single independently evaluated, open, not proprietary standard, so the national market isn’t fragmented and consumers aren’t confused. Also, broadcasters need a solution quickly, in time to launch new commercial services before the Feb. 2009 transition to all-digital TV broadcasting (the analog shut-off) changes the landscape for TV broadcasting, and A-VSB can meet that need.

For the duration of NAB, live A-VSB transmissions were sent from local Sinclair Broadcast Group TV station KVMY Las Vegas to mobile receivers operating on a chartered bus in the Convention Center area, using the station’s current transmitter and frequency. The same programming was re-transmitted at a second frequency on a separate low-power Single Frequency Network (SFN). The SFN was set up with the support of ION Media Networks (which previously has conducted limited testing of A-VSB in Tampa, Florida) and was operated under an experimental license to ION from the Federal Communications Commission. The SFN had three transmitter sites, two located on structures north and south of the Convention Center along the Las Vegas Strip and one inside the Convention Center at the ATSC Digital TV Hot Spot. The SFN demonstration showed how A-VSB makes it easy for broadcasters to maintain complete signal coverage and transmission, filling in gaps between buildings and behind mountains for maximum service quality.

The technology is being standardized in ATSC, and an ATSC-supervised lab test was conducted in November 2006, with field tests to be mounted in the first half of 2007. A completed standard is targeted for 2007, with implementation by broadcasters and consumer electronics manufacturers beginning soon afterward, aiming toward widespread commercial services before the February 2009 transition to all-digital TV broadcasting in the United States.

Samsung announced at NAB 2007 that to support the rapid development of new services and new businesses for broadcasters, Samsung intends to make A-VSB evaluation kits (including prototype transmission and reception equipment) available on a limited basis to broadcasters and other partner companies in the third quarter of 2007.

What is Advanced-VSB?
A-VSB technology builds on the current ATSC transmission standard to enhance the ability of receivers to display television broadcasts while in motion, both indoors and outdoors. It also allows broadcasters to include multiple “turbo-coded” streams within the current main stream, resulting in stronger, clearer signal transmission. In addition, A-VSB eases the synchronization of broadcast signal timing among different towers in a Single Frequency Network (SFN). SFNs can improve the quality of broadcast service by providing uniform signal strength throughout a service area, so that receivers can receive a stronger signal from a nearby transmitter and take advantage of the spatial separation of multiple transmitters to mitigate obstacles such as hills and buildings.

A-VSB is backward compatible-broadcasters can implement A-VSB technology with no impact on legacy (non-A-VSB) digital TV receivers, which will ignore the added information in the signal while continuing to receive the main TV stream (e.g., High-Definition TV programming). In addition, as A-VSB technology helps broadcasters deploy SFNs to fill gaps in the coverage of their service area, owners of legacy receivers may find their reception quality is also improved.

About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., markets a broad range of award-winning, advanced digital consumer electronics, information systems and home appliance products. The SEA organization oversees the North American operations of Samsung including Samsung Telecommunications America, LP, Samsung Electronics Canada, Inc. and Samsung Electronics Mexico, Inc. Please visit www.samsung.com for more information.

About Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2006 parent company sales of US$63.4 billion and net income of US$8.5 billion. Employing approximately 138,000 people in 124 offices in 56 countries, the company consists of five main business units: Digital Media Business, LCD Business, Semiconductor Business, Telecommunication Network Business and Digital Appliance Business. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

About Rohde & Schwarz
Rohde & Schwarz is an independent group of companies specializing in electronics. It is a leading supplier of solutions in the fields of test and measurement, broadcasting, radiomonitoring and radiolocation as well as secure radiocommunications. Established more than 70 years ago, Rohde & Schwarz has a global presence and a dedicated service network in over 70 countries. It has approx. 6900 employees and achieved a net revenue of $ 1.3 billion in the past fiscal year. Company headquarters are in Munich, Germany.



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